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Bimal Jalan's appointment as RBI governor is being viewed as an orange light of sorts

For Bimal Jalan, the 56-year-old master blender of market economics and socialistic values -- for such is his evaluation in the world of high finance -- the governorship of the Reserve Bank of India appears to be the natural culmination of a hugely successful career.

Incumbent C Rangarajan will take over, meanwhile, as governor of Andhra Pradesh -- a post that has been vacant ever since Krishna Kant became vice-president of India.

Jalan's appointment is being viewed, by analysts, as an orange light of sorts. A cautionary touch to visceral financial sector reforms, most notably the move to move towards Capital Account Convertibility.

Jalan is, in fact, something of a surprise candidate for the post -- conventional wisdom having been that Finance Secretary Montek Singh Ahluwalia, or Dr Arjun Sengupta, another member of the Planning Commission, would take over the post.

Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram, announcing Jalan's appointment, has indicated that his term would initially be for three years, with a possibility of extension.

Though his appointment may have come as something of a surprise, leading economists are of the opinion that Jalan's entire career has been building towards this moment in time. And that Chidambaram, by installing a pragmatist at the head of the central bank, may have pulled off something of a masterstroke.

Jalan's forte is seen as an ability to assimilate different political approaches into a pragmatic economic policy -- and this quality, it is believed, could be crucial at a time when the country is on the verge of shifting gears on the path of liberalisation.

He is well used to navigating the waters of public finance, having earlier served at various times as banking secretary, finance secretary and economic advisor to the government. And, as member-secretary to the Planning Commission (the post he now holds), Jalan is also credited with the formulation of the Ninth Five Year Plan in association with Deputy Chairman Madhu Dandavate.

Between them, Jalan and Dandavate are credited with introducing the concept of 'co-operative federalism' to give thrust to the delivery system in the Ninth Plan. And this, in turn, is seen as further proof of his ability to merge political realities and economic needs into a harmonious whole.

A more concrete tribute to his ability to see a way through India's mesh of conflicting political ideologies, however, can be seen within the covers of his books Economic Policy: Preparing for the 21st Century and Indian Economy: Problems and prospects.